Ethical consumerism relies on the belief that individual consumers can have a significant effect on achieving objectives of socially responsible trade with the help of their daily purchasing decisions[1][2] . Even though the definition and degree of ethicalness varies from person to person, three major common areas of concern can be defined: people, animal and environmental focus[3] . Some of the issues ethical consumerism tries to address include workers' rights, country of origin and animal health[4] The ways in which ethical consumerism tries to tackle these problems can be categorised into positive and negative purchase behaviour. Negative purchase behaviour is about boycotting certain options, which are not considered being on a acceptable level of ethicalness, whereas positive purchase behaviour relates to preferring more ethical alternatives, such as Fair Trade products. [5]
Critique
Regardless of the rising interest on ethical consumption deriving both from individual consumers as well as from corporations, ethical consumption thus has not become a common practice as several studies have shown (1, 4, 5). The fact that consumers are not living up to the ethical consuming standards they communicate is also called as behaviour-intention gap (4). Some of the most significant barriers are lack of information, availability of the products and high prices (1). Some suggest that corporations should step in and improve their communication about the ethical issues behind the products so that the ethical consumers can make better informed buying decision (4). Problem with this idea is, however, that the companies might take the advantage of marketing the products as socially sustainable to attract more customers (4), which can be an intriguing option given that ethical consumers are often times willing to pay some extra for ethical products (3).
Since the social problems are rather complex issues and buying for instance a chocolate bar can have an effect throughout the entire supply chain, consumers feel confused of making the right decision, which is part of the reason why ethical consumerism has not become more every-day life (1). The video clip below discusses some of these trade-offs ethical consumers can be facing and how the consumers can have very different perceptions on what ethical consuming habits actually are. Given that the consumers should have a wide understanding of the issues involved with all of the products they are buying, the question arises whether it is the consumers' task to make the ethical decision or if the companies should be the ones changing the way they do business to a sustainable direction while making such ethical consumerism concerns irrelevant.
Ethical consumerism & Food
The globalization of food sourcing and some of the recent trends such healthy eating and vegetarianism have resulted in more conscious consumers (5), who are concerned of aspects such as health, animal welfare, the environment and helping people in the developing world (3) as well as food safety and quality [6] . Ethical consumers are trying to find a diet that takes into account all different, sometimes conflicting, ethical perspectives, locate shopping opportunities and create eating habits, which allow sustainable consumption pattern [7] . The rising trend of ethical awareness regarding food consumption has lead to increased demand of labeled food (e.g. Fair Trade) (3, 5, [8] ) and alternative food systems (e.g. small local producers,organic food ) (2).
There is a great variety of different food related labels concerning food safety, food quality, environmental and social concerns (5, 6). Even though such labels are generally regarded as credible (1), consumers may have highly varying level of trust on the labelling systems depending on the message of the label, design, source and how these fit the consumer's own values (8). In addition to the traditional certificates like Fair Trade consumers are striving also for information about the overall ecological footprint of the products (6).
However, making ethical decisions regarding food is not quite that simple but instead consumers are left struggling with several tradeoffs. Buying local produce is generally regarded as an ethically viable option but studies have shown that the environmental effect of growing for instance tomatoes in the North during winter time is greater than for transporting tomatoes from some countries with more ideal climate. Organic agriculture, in turn, has been criticised of not being able to yield as much as conventional agriculture and therefore not solving the problem of millions of people suffering from famine. Due to the clear tradeoffs that consumers are trying to balance some alternative supplementary actions could be taken by private and public sector by decreasing the opportunities of consumers or using taxes to guide consumers' behaviour. (7)
Relation to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
Because each individual have their own perception on ethics and what ethical consumption habits should address, the goals that ethical consumerism is working for is not that straight-forward to define. However, when considering the values ethical consumerism generally prioritize (health, animal welfare, the environment and helping people in the developing world (3), food safety and quality (6)), some of the UN's sustainable development goals can be linked to the phenomena. First and foremost, ethical consumerism addresses SDG number 12: sustainable consumption and production, that among other things aims on consumers making well-informed dietary decisions. By carrying out ethical consumer habits it may even have an indirect effect on some of the other goals such as SDG number 1: no poverty by preferring socially sustainable choices, which enable all links of the supply chain to get enough revenue for good standard of living. Furthermore, since ethical food consumption often relates to prioritizing alternative food networks, it can have an impact on the subgoal of SDG 2: zero hunger of improving the efficiency and income level of small scale farmers.
Illustration of corporate praxis
It is not enough that consumers have an ethical approach, but the corporations also need to accept their responsibility for how they do business and enable the consumers to make ethically sustainable decisions (1). Consumers have proven not to implement their ethical values in their consumption and one way of tackling this problem could be if the companies would provide easy solutions for ethical consumption. The options should be accessible, positioned in the store so that the consumers can actually find the products and enough information needs to be provided (4). Corresponding term to ethical consumerism for the corporate world would ethical trade, which by and large aims at preventing injustices of global trade (e.g. pollution, infringement of human rights). The motivation of corporations to engage themselves in ethical business practices can be about the belief that those practices will be beneficial for the company overall but the main reason is indeed that customers have demand for such ethical options (5). Consumers are actually willing to pay extra for ethically produced products (1, 3), which can be highly intriguing for some companies.
Because consumers tend to be highly skeptical about the ethical conducts of corporations, the private sector actors need to put a lot of effort into building an ethical image of the company whereas the image can be destroyed within seconds on the basis of rumours. There is a risk of ethics being used only as a marketing trick instead of as a goal in itself, which can eventually harm the company profoundly. Furthermore, such misuse can also feed the skeptical approach the consumers tend to have and therefore effect negatively even those who actually pursue ethics in their business activities. (1)
There are several companies that are aiming at providing better alternatives for the consumers, and one such company is Goodio. They are producing raw chocolate, made out of organic ingredients, with no added white sugar or dairy products wrapped in a bio degradable packaging. The idea of the company was born after one of the founders avoiding chocolate due to several reasons understood that if chocolate is to be produced in a different way it can be both nutritious treat as well as a good choice when thinking of other ethical aspects. [9]
Jukka explains in the video below more about their business philosophy, and his opinion on consumers' power to make a difference.
Other examples of companies trying to provide better alternatives for ethical consumers is for instance a German supermarket, Original Unverpackt, where all disposable packaging has been eliminated in order to reduce unnecessary waste from excess packaging [10] . Instead the customers bring their own containers (10).
Rubies in the Rubble is also aiming at providing better alternative for waste management in form of producing relish and ketchups out of surplus produce from the farmers[11] Furthermore, a company called Coffee flour is making use of the cherry part of coffee, which usually goes to waste in the coffee bean process [12] . The plump from coffee coffee cherry is produced into flour that is filled with nutrition and can be used both for salty and sweet recipes (12).
Examples from Finland
In Finnish context, majority of the consumers (91%) thinks ethics is important in business, but only 17% considers ethics having a significant impact on their consumption. Consumers would need access to reliable information about the products in order to be able to make informant decisions, but at its current state the majority (60%) believes that information offered by companies is rather reliable instead of highly reliable. On top of the lack of reliable information, the Finnish consumers do not have trust in being able to make a difference by their consuming habits. (1)
The Finnish government is making an effort to support the ethical consuming habits by for instance planning on an increase in organic food production [13] . Finnish consumers would, moreover, prefer short supply chains for food products but currently around 40 % of organic products are imported, which is one of the problem areas the government is trying to address (13). In Slush 2016 organized in Helsinki, start-ups presented their innovations for "Survival Plan for Planet Earth", which included a lot of food related innovations that could provide new alternatives for Finnish ethical consumers.[14]
^ Uusitalo, O. & Oksanen, R. (2004). Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28 (3), pp. 214-221.
^ Gunderson, R. (2014). Problems with the defetishization thesis: ethical consumerism, alternative food systems, and commodity fetishism. Agric Hum Values, 31, pp. 109-117.
^ Browne, A., Harris, P., Hofny-Collins, A., Pasiecznik, N. & Wallace, R. (2000). Organic production and ethical trade: definition, practice and links. Food Policy, 25, pp. 69-89.
^ Carrington, M. & Neville, B. (2010). Why Ethical Consumers Don’t Walk their Talk: Towards a Framework for Understanding the Gap Between the Ethical Purchase Intentions and Actual Buying Behavior of Ethically Minded Consumers. Journal of Business Ethics, 97, pp.139-158.
^ Tallontire, A., Rentsendorj, E. & Blowfield, M. (2001). Ethical Consumers and ethical trade: a review of current literature, Available at: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/11125. Retrieved: 30.1.2017.
^ De Tavernier, J. (2012). Food Citizenship: Is There a Duty for Responsible Consumption? Agric Environ Ethics, 25, pp. 895-907.
^ Gjerris, M., Gamborg, C. & Saxe, H. (2016). What to Buy? On the Complexity of Being a Critical Consumer, Agric Environ Ethics, 29, pp. 81-102.
^ Zepeda, L., Sirieix, L., Pizarro, A., Corderre, F. & Rodier, F. (2013). A conceptual framework for analyzing consumers' food label preferences: An exploratory study of sustainability labels in France. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37, pp. 605-616.
Ethical consumerism
Definition
Ethical consumerism relies on the belief that individual consumers can have a significant effect on achieving objectives of socially responsible trade with the help of their daily purchasing decisions[1] [2] . Even though the definition and degree of ethicalness varies from person to person, three major common areas of concern can be defined: people, animal and environmental focus[3] . Some of the issues ethical consumerism tries to address include workers' rights, country of origin and animal health [4] The ways in which ethical consumerism tries to tackle these problems can be categorised into positive and negative purchase behaviour. Negative purchase behaviour is about boycotting certain options, which are not considered being on a acceptable level of ethicalness, whereas positive purchase behaviour relates to preferring more ethical alternatives, such as Fair Trade products. [5]
Critique
Regardless of the rising interest on ethical consumption deriving both from individual consumers as well as from corporations, ethical consumption thus has not become a common practice as several studies have shown (1, 4, 5). The fact that consumers are not living up to the ethical consuming standards they communicate is also called as behaviour-intention gap (4). Some of the most significant barriers are lack of information, availability of the products and high prices (1). Some suggest that corporations should step in and improve their communication about the ethical issues behind the products so that the ethical consumers can make better informed buying decision (4). Problem with this idea is, however, that the companies might take the advantage of marketing the products as socially sustainable to attract more customers (4), which can be an intriguing option given that ethical consumers are often times willing to pay some extra for ethical products (3).
Since the social problems are rather complex issues and buying for instance a chocolate bar can have an effect throughout the entire supply chain, consumers feel confused of making the right decision, which is part of the reason why ethical consumerism has not become more every-day life (1). The video clip below discusses some of these trade-offs ethical consumers can be facing and how the consumers can have very different perceptions on what ethical consuming habits actually are. Given that the consumers should have a wide understanding of the issues involved with all of the products they are buying, the question arises whether it is the consumers' task to make the ethical decision or if the companies should be the ones changing the way they do business to a sustainable direction while making such ethical consumerism concerns irrelevant.
Ethical consumerism & Food
The globalization of food sourcing and some of the recent trends such healthy eating and vegetarianism have resulted in more conscious consumers (5), who are concerned of aspects such as health, animal welfare, the environment and helping people in the developing world (3) as well as food safety and quality [6] . Ethical consumers are trying to find a diet that takes into account all different, sometimes conflicting, ethical perspectives, locate shopping opportunities and create eating habits, which allow sustainable consumption pattern [7] . The rising trend of ethical awareness regarding food consumption has lead to increased demand of labeled food (e.g. Fair Trade) (3, 5, [8] ) and alternative food systems (e.g. small local producers, organic food ) (2).
There is a great variety of different food related labels concerning food safety, food quality, environmental and social concerns (5, 6). Even though such labels are generally regarded as credible (1), consumers may have highly varying level of trust on the labelling systems depending on the message of the label, design, source and how these fit the consumer's own values (8). In addition to the traditional certificates like Fair Trade consumers are striving also for information about the overall ecological footprint of the products (6).
However, making ethical decisions regarding food is not quite that simple but instead consumers are left struggling with several tradeoffs. Buying local produce is generally regarded as an ethically viable option but studies have shown that the environmental effect of growing for instance tomatoes in the North during winter time is greater than for transporting tomatoes from some countries with more ideal climate. Organic agriculture, in turn, has been criticised of not being able to yield as much as conventional agriculture and therefore not solving the problem of millions of people suffering from famine. Due to the clear tradeoffs that consumers are trying to balance some alternative supplementary actions could be taken by private and public sector by decreasing the opportunities of consumers or using taxes to guide consumers' behaviour. (7)
Relation to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)
Because each individual have their own perception on ethics and what ethical consumption habits should address, the goals that ethical consumerism is working for is not that straight-forward to define. However, when considering the values ethical consumerism generally prioritize (health, animal welfare, the environment and helping people in the developing world (3), food safety and quality (6)), some of the UN's sustainable development goals can be linked to the phenomena. First and foremost, ethical consumerism addresses SDG number 12: sustainable consumption and production, that among other things aims on consumers making well-informed dietary decisions. By carrying out ethical consumer habits it may even have an indirect effect on some of the other goals such as SDG number 1: no poverty by preferring socially sustainable choices, which enable all links of the supply chain to get enough revenue for good standard of living. Furthermore, since ethical food consumption often relates to prioritizing alternative food networks, it can have an impact on the subgoal of SDG 2: zero hunger of improving the efficiency and income level of small scale farmers.
Illustration of corporate praxis
It is not enough that consumers have an ethical approach, but the corporations also need to accept their responsibility for how they do business and enable the consumers to make ethically sustainable decisions (1). Consumers have proven not to implement their ethical values in their consumption and one way of tackling this problem could be if the companies would provide easy solutions for ethical consumption. The options should be accessible, positioned in the store so that the consumers can actually find the products and enough information needs to be provided (4). Corresponding term to ethical consumerism for the corporate world would ethical trade, which by and large aims at preventing injustices of global trade (e.g. pollution, infringement of human rights). The motivation of corporations to engage themselves in ethical business practices can be about the belief that those practices will be beneficial for the company overall but the main reason is indeed that customers have demand for such ethical options (5). Consumers are actually willing to pay extra for ethically produced products (1, 3), which can be highly intriguing for some companies.
Because consumers tend to be highly skeptical about the ethical conducts of corporations, the private sector actors need to put a lot of effort into building an ethical image of the company whereas the image can be destroyed within seconds on the basis of rumours. There is a risk of ethics being used only as a marketing trick instead of as a goal in itself, which can eventually harm the company profoundly. Furthermore, such misuse can also feed the skeptical approach the consumers tend to have and therefore effect negatively even those who actually pursue ethics in their business activities. (1)
There are several companies that are aiming at providing better alternatives for the consumers, and one such company is Goodio. They are producing raw chocolate, made out of organic ingredients, with no added white sugar or dairy products wrapped in a bio degradable packaging. The idea of the company was born after one of the founders avoiding chocolate due to several reasons understood that if chocolate is to be produced in a different way it can be both nutritious treat as well as a good choice when thinking of other ethical aspects. [9]
Jukka explains in the video below more about their business philosophy, and his opinion on consumers' power to make a difference.
Other examples of companies trying to provide better alternatives for ethical consumers is for instance a German supermarket, Original Unverpackt, where all disposable packaging has been eliminated in order to reduce unnecessary waste from excess packaging [10] . Instead the customers bring their own containers (10).
Rubies in the Rubble is also aiming at providing better alternative for waste management in form of producing relish and ketchups out of surplus produce from the farmers[11] Furthermore, a company called Coffee flour is making use of the cherry part of coffee, which usually goes to waste in the coffee bean process [12] . The plump from coffee coffee cherry is produced into flour that is filled with nutrition and can be used both for salty and sweet recipes (12).
Examples from Finland
In Finnish context, majority of the consumers (91%) thinks ethics is important in business, but only 17% considers ethics having a significant impact on their consumption. Consumers would need access to reliable information about the products in order to be able to make informant decisions, but at its current state the majority (60%) believes that information offered by companies is rather reliable instead of highly reliable. On top of the lack of reliable information, the Finnish consumers do not have trust in being able to make a difference by their consuming habits. (1)
The Finnish government is making an effort to support the ethical consuming habits by for instance planning on an increase in organic food production [13] . Finnish consumers would, moreover, prefer short supply chains for food products but currently around 40 % of organic products are imported, which is one of the problem areas the government is trying to address (13). In Slush 2016 organized in Helsinki, start-ups presented their innovations for "Survival Plan for Planet Earth", which included a lot of food related innovations that could provide new alternatives for Finnish ethical consumers.[14]
Open source articles
1. Uusitalo, O. & Oksanen, R. (2004). Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland. I//nternational Journal of Consumer Studies//, 28 (3), pp. 214-221. Retrieved: 2.4.2017.
2. Shaw, D., Grehan, E., Shiu, E., Hassan, L. & Thomson, J. (2005). Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4 (3), pp. 185-200. Retrieved: 2.4.2017.
3. Carrigan, M. & Attalla, A. (2001). The myth of ethical consumer - do ethics matter in purchase behaviour. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 8 (7), pp.560-577. Retrieved: 2.4.2017.
External links
Eat Low Carbon
World Wild Life - Food
Greenpeace - Our Food, Our Future
Ethical Consumer
Shop Ethical
Civileats
Quiz
Quiz created by Mari Vesikivi with GoConqr
http://gala.gre.ac.uk/11125. Retrieved: 30.1.2017.